The constellation Cepheus represents a King, but looks like the stick house that children draw.

The constellation Cepheus represents a King. It is faint, but its distinctive shape makes it easy to locate, if you look in the north on August evenings.Cepheus resembles the stick house we all drew as children – and that children today still draw – with a square for the base and a triangle for the roof. In the case of Cepheus, the tip of the roof (a star known as Gamma Cephei, or Errai) points generally northward.Star Errai: Future North StarIn the sky, “northward” always means “toward the sky’s north pole,” or toward Polaris. Thus the roof of the house in Cepheus is pointing mostly north, even though – in tonight’s sky – that means it’s pointing sideways and downward.In Greek mythology, Cepheus represents a King of Ethiopia. To find Cepheus, you might want to locate a more prominent constellation, Cassiopeia the Queen. For more about Cassiopeia, see our chart for August 21.Will Mars appear as large as a full moon in August 2011?How to see Mars in August 2011